100 Things I Love This Week Part 2- Decorating and Rehearsing

 

26. Tall Ladders- Essential to any good wedding. Also, pretty treacherous, since one of the valiant members of ladder team two was actually shocked by lights! Still, I am positive that the key to our wedding's success was those ladders.

 

27. Liam as a helper- Shell and Micah brought the baby with them, which provided lots of extra cuteness (and he is such a good baby). My Nana was all over watching him, and you could tell she was genuinely having a good time. 

 

28. The photo wall- Natalie and my Dad were all over it, and it really looked great. Here is Natalie trying to figure out how to cover up the wire with ribbon. It is very nice to have an artist as a cousin on days like that one! 

 

29. Big Rock Tissue Mountain- Jenny was fluffing all day, and before these bad boys went up, you couldn't even see her. Those are her feet at the bottom. Jenny's feet alone make this picture amazing. 

 

30. Anchor Village's lattices- Ok, I am lying. Those things are fugly, but they do cover up uglier things and we did get to use them in a pretty cute way. If you are having your reception at Anchor Village, bring white paint with you! And probably power tools, because those things are falling apart.

31. The giant bug living on the junk that the last group left on the lattices. So Gross. It's when you are pulling off your 3rd or 4th grasshopper you start really doubting your decision- but it all turned out, so now their memory is endearing.

 

32. Sweet Basil Pizza- Sweet Basil took over the old Pizza Hut in Marian, and that is where my Mom went to get food for everyone on Friday. The pizza was all so amazing. If you are taking the drive between Eastern PA and Franklin, I would highly recommend this place. Hit the spot.She got a ton of pizza and we pretty much finished it.

 

33. That Jim McGee showed up as we were cleaning up and getting ready to go. Now that is some good timing. He did move one table and pretend to put up one flower, so that is some quality groomsmenning.

 

34. This picture of the Boy and Carlo as kids. Specifically, that they are wearing sweatsuit outfits and putting hands on each others thighs. Mrs. Alfeo swears that she was sick that day, so she takes no responsibility for it.

 

35.  The Dance floor ceiling! My Dad figured out how to put it up, and it really did look amazing and beautiful. As each puff and lantern went up, I just got more excited about how it looked.

 

36. The Congradulations sign- Courtesy of my Sister-in-laws. We are an odd group, but this cracks me up!

  

37. Having my brother with me- You can't do anything this big without your sibling. Mine is the best! He had about 48 hours in Franklin to be there for all of our wedding stuff (he had to leave LA while training for a new job and moving into a new apartment) and I couldn't have appreciated it more. Plus, I thought his rehearsal outfit was pretty sharp.

 

38. This bridesmaid/groomsmen combo. We had a lot of short girls and tall guys, but this is my favorite/ most dramatic combination!

 

39. The rehearsal bouquet from my Aunt Ann- She couldn't come in the end, but she got me a small bouquet for the rehearsal as a surprise, which was just so sweet. It was a nice way to feel like she was with me and thinking of me because I was definitely thinking of her and wishing she could be there with us! I missed her so much, but she was so sweet and thoughtful toward me, even from a distance. Also, the bouquet was really pretty. 

 

40. Ok, I wasn't thinking ahead so I didn't take a good picture of the food, but AmaZing Food Catering did an awesome job, and I was especially obsessed with the tortellini which were green and had cheese and were freaking amazing. Shame on me for saying we should just do pizza, because I will be thinking of that tortellini for the rest of my life. Maybe I just loved the carbs after lunch, but I was really excited about the food (and I wasn't the only one who came back for seconds!).

 

41. This Picture- These two are my family and my home and it made me so happy to see them hanging out and being together! Love them so much! Also, my brother is another sucker for babies, so that was cute too!

 

42. Black light bowling- Nothing says the solemnity of marital commitment like Pam's whole body glowing under the lights while we all bowled.  If you are trying to think of a good pre-wedding activity, I would recommend bowling, though I think I might tell the bride and groom to not commit to actually bowling.

 

43.  Seeing old friends who I haven't seen for a while- Even better, seeing them bowl and interact with other people from the past. One of the most fun parts of wedding festivities.

 

44. The church dress/ bowling shoe combo- this look is going to blow up. They looked even more amazing glowing in the black light.

 

45.  This picture- just another good one. I love their dance together!

46.  That Zach broke a bowling ball- That's power. He actually put a huge dent in the ball. He seemed pretty proud of it too!

 

47. The Old Timey phones in D'Casa B& B- we tried them all. They were pretty amazing. The whole B& B has new ownership and they redid the kitchen. It turned out to be a great home base through wedding festivities, and we liked playing with all the old stuff in there! The hour after bowling we ran around a bunch and I think got out some energy playing and exploring the space. It was so fun!

48. D'Casa B and B's kitchen- It looks like a kitchen in a magazine. I am not sure I have ever been in such a fancypants kitchen before in my life. We were really impressed by it!

 

49.  Late night conversations with these people- such a fun night!

 

50. Waking up to my Dad playing the "It's your wedding day" polka on his tuba- the perfect way to get up. 

Read more

100 Things I Love This Week Part 1- Pre-wedding Festivities

1. Getting our Nails done at Timmy's at Bahama Breeze- He didn't even make me get fake ones this time, because I did better at not biting my nails. It was such a fun afternoon with my Mom and Melissa! I did not find it relaxing though. I just don't get why manicures are supposed to somehow be restful. But Timmy is kind of like the hair salons in that he knows everybody.
2. Red toenails- they are so cute! My mom makes fun of my prostitute colored toenails, but they looked pretty on her too so there. I have very few beauty preferences, but this is one of them.

3. Red polka dot shoes! These are my shoes, my mom's shoes, and my bridesmaid shoes. I love them all together!

4. My beloved Melissa! I could say this one about a million times. As my dad said, she has the perfect amount of enthusiasm every step of the way and she made every step fun. You think wedding festivities will be a romantic kind of love fest, but I found, in general, it was a lot about all of the other loves in our life. We came out of it feeling super super lucky. For me, a big part of that was Melissa!
5. My Mom's sense of timing- she thinks things take even less time than I do! It cracks me up, but the two of us together make for a pretty chaotic day!

6. Meeting Liam- Man, I was so pumped to see this baby! He was just so adorable and sweet. He has super big eyes and a really serious face, so when he is just looking around everywhere he looks so curious, which has to be one of the best qualities you can have as a baby (and a person in general!) I was just so happy to be near him!

7. Watching everyone else with Liam- Honestly, this was one of the biggest pleasures of the whole event. About the only thing cuter than an infant is watching the people you love interact with them. They are just magic in tiny human form, because they pull the joy and love right out of everybody else around them. Liam had that magic in spades, and it was so nice to watch my Uncle Doug and Nana interact with him. Not to mention it was crazy to see Shelly being a mommy!

8. Moffitt Cookie Nights- I love these, because they give us an excuse to be silly and weird, but what I like the most is just when my grandparents house is full and loud. I miss the times when it was like that at least once a month, but this night on its own could have been the best night ever. For reals.

9. Frosting Time- People were not as excited about cutting out cookies (mostly just Zach Natalie and I did that) but once it was time to frost people were all over the place. Plus, this part is funny, because people have to try to figure out what the heck it was we were trying to make. And my Nana always looks like she is having so much fun.

10. Big Foot Cookies- God Bless younger cousins with Big Foot obsessions, because the cookies really do turn out awesome. Well, not this one in particular, because we forgot about a pan and burnt them all. But, all was not lost!

11. Burnt cookies- Perfect for lopping up all of the extra Nana frosting after we finished the cookies. It shouldn't have been as amazing as it was, but I think we all enjoyed that part the most. That frosting is seriously the best frosting in the whole world, so if you have to use a piece of burnt cardboard to eat it off of, you won't complain.

12. Mars Rover cookie fighting Big Foot- Do you know when you try to print out a picture of the Mars Rover from the NASA website, it just sends you a faint image of Mars? Ah well, perfect to stage an epic faceoff between the two icons. I just hope that this catches on as a widespread bridal tradition. Maybe if I pinterest it.

 

 13. My cousin Hannah- She and I were talking weddings, and she told me she was going to wait until she was older-like maybe 20 or 21- to get married. Then she was pretty shocked and disgusted to find out I was already 26! Just ancient! It just cracked me up! I love just hanging out with the girl cousins!

14. Sleeping in- You really start to appreciate it when you don't have it any more. Kind of like dry clothes, which I was also having trouble getting a hold of.

 

15. Hibachi "firemen"- the only stripper at my Bachelorette Party was a tiny little plastic guy that this guy used to wash off the grill. It was a very special moment, that sadly no one got on camera. Glad some innappropriateness snuck its way in.

 

16. My now Sister in laws- You have to love two women who force feed you swiss cake rolls and accidentally order 6 meals when you go out to eat (they were only shooting for 2). They completely crack me up with all of their sassiness, though they will never be as sassy as Aubrey! 

 

17. Pottery Painting as a bachelorette party- With 2 pregos, 2 underagers, and a new mommy in the group, it was a bit of a challenge to figure out what to do, but the final decision was a nice surprise. It was super relaxing and really fun. 

 

 18. Ye Ole Sweet Shops new Cupcake truck! Melissa got this to come to the pottery painting place as a surprise and it was AMAZING! I blew my wedding diet a few days early but it was so worth it.

 

19. Watching all the girls pig out and my bride cupcake- Everything was really good and they had even worked out the flavors to bring in my Italian fiance (they brought canolis) and our wedding colors. I cannot overstate how much I loved the surprise. Plus, they gave me three boxes of treats and everyone moved right through them because they were so good!

 

20. "Soon to Be Mrs. Alfeo"- This creeps me out, because in my head, I am somehow going to morph into my Mother-in-Law, who has always been Mrs. Alfeo to me. It just feels so weird!

 

 

21. Elizabeth's demented leprocy cat- She had a real vision to execute. Loved it.  I actually tried to paint something normal, so I was pretty jealous of her.

 

22. Shell's blazer- I am not sure if there is a blog specifically for post-baby fashion, but this girl should be on it. She looked so cute constantly, and I think the blazer was a serious highlight. You have to love that Forever 21! 

 

23. Silver Cornet Band Concerts in the Park- Best thing in the world is hearing the Silver Cornet March and smelling the popcorn. It makes me happy just thinking about it now!

 

24. The Courthouse- So Pretty.

 

25. The Last Late Night with the Lego Card Box- I went to sleep before it was done (so before that stormtrooper began to massage Voldemort) but the project just got bigger and bigger, and it ended up being pretty amazing!

Read more